MY STORY

 

Hi, I'm Simran, and I've been on my pottery journey for just over a year. All my work is done in my little home studio.

Five years ago, I had an accident that left me severely sight-impaired with right sided weakness, mobility and memory issues.

Pottery has brought a renewed sense of purpose to my life, filling me with joy and pleasure. It also helped stave the social isolation and uselessness I have felt since the accident.

I am self-taught, having discovered that there were no local classes for people with disabilities (I plan to change that).

I feel a profound sense of freedom when I’m working at the wheel and want others with disabilities to be able to feel the same freedom as I do.

I want others with disabilities to be able to feel the clay between their fingers, experience the joy of creating something unique, and in that moment being able to forget about their physical/cognitive impairments. 

I use both earthenware and stoneware clay, decorating my creations with brush-on glazes and the help of a magnifier to add any details, although a lot of the decoration is down to luck!

Each piece I create is handmade, making every item one-of-a-kind. My work involves two techniques: pieces are either thrown on the wheel (which I love) or carefully hand-built (hand building is a new process for me but it is fun being creative and seeing what I can do with the clay).

After shaping, each piece is left to dry to leather hard, bisque-fired in my kiln, glazed, and finally fired again to complete the process.

Pottery takes time, and the process is slow, but the end result is always worth the wait (well almost always, I have had some disasters along the way, but I am learning from my mistakes and my skills and techniques are improving).

 

Simran